Pathein, Myanmar— Myanmar held a national
referendum Saturday despite warnings that more
people would die unless the government focussed
on delivering emergency aid for survivors of
last week’s cyclone. In surreal scenes, voting
booths were erected close to makeshift camps for
the homeless, and the country’s military regime
continued to hold up tonnes of urgent relief
supplies at the airport.
Manila, Philippines —The first group of
Malaysian peacekeepers left the Philippines on
Saturday as peace talks between the government
and Muslim rebels were stalled.
Trincomalee, Sri Lanka—K. Nanthakopan is a
marked man, being roughly the political
equivalent of a top Al-Qaeda member who has
defected to Washington. The 38-year-old is part
of a group of Tamil Tiger rebels who in 2004
split away from the movement to set up a
splinter group, helping the ethnic
Sinhalese-dominated government win control over
the island’s east last year.
Oslo— The Norwegian Parliamentary Committee on
Kashmir urged the world community to continue
its wholehearted support to the ongoing peace
process between India and Pakistan and Kashmiris
fate should not be decided without taking them
into confidence.
IN the US and Britain, there is a campaign to
smear anybody who tries to describe the plight
of the Palestinian people. It is an attempt to
intimidate and silence — and to a large degree,
it works. There is nobody these self-appointed
spokesmen for Israel will not attack as
anti-Jewish: liberal Jews, rabbis, even
Holocaust survivors.
